B E B E R E

Dana over at Note It Posts remarks upon the little marketing gimmick started up by some folks who aren't happy at who one the election. Whatever. At least the money's (reportedly) being given to charity.

What really gets my goat is the inability to just let the election go and get on with one's life. For crying out loud: I was sorely unhappy when Tsongas dropped from the Democratic party race before the 92 elections, but settled for Clinton, for better or worse. Heck, I voted for Gore in 2000. When GWB won (and yes, he did win the election in 2000, despite what you may have heard), I didn't get into a tizzy over it. I didn't threaten to leave the country. I just did what (I think) any mature person would do: shrugged my shoulders, hoped for the best, and moved on. I wasn't exactly thrilled with Bush, but, well, I got over it.

I remember the first time I saw a bit of the resolve that has now characterized the current administration and that was when the US delegates left Durban in 2001. Given what was going on there, I think that it was the best move that could have been made. If it offended European sensibilities, so be it. We've since learned that Realpolitik is only valid if you're Europe. You don't go after sovereign leaders, no matter how brutal they are, unless they're Pinochet. The UN is an organization of "do as I say, not as I do"ers (to put it as mildly as possible).

9/11, of course, solidified everything for me. All the bickering over whether the president should have jumped up and rushed off from the kindergarten class is just silly. He comforted us, he led us. He convinced me, anyway, that he was the best man for the job. I disagree with a good number of things that the administration has done since then, but in all, I'm not unhappy with them.

This is actually the first year I voted for a Republican president, and I note that I neither grew hair on my palms nor was I struck blind after submitting my ballot. Go figure.

There are many opted for the challenger, of course. Based on my first hand experience of his leadership capabilities (I've lived in MA for 1/2 my life)and the incredibly dirty campaign I feel his party ran, I'd have been extremely unhappy if he'd have won. I can, however, say with certainty that I'd have behaved in the same way that I did in 2000. I'd go on with my life with the hope that he'd be better than I was giving him credit for.

With regards to the (sorry, but have to call a spade a spade) sore losers (from Kerry with his nay vote yesterday and his petition to get Rumsfeld canned to these folks to the people who planned on turning their backs to the president during the inaugural parade), I'm reminded of a lawyer friend once saying that there was an advantage to keeping a group emotionally stunted. I also think of the spoiled children I see quite a bit here who throw tantrums when they don't get their way.

Recently, I'd gotten an email from a friend who was exhorting everyone they knew to not leave the country, or if they did, to come back in force in 2008. One of the things that they said in particular was striking: they felt that since they'd never voted for a winning presidential candidate, they entertained the thought that democracy didn't work. I thought about Ann Althouse's post election post along with my experiences, and ended up replying, "democracy doesn't mean you always get your way."

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Sad. Very sad.